Numerical Simulation and Optimization of CsSnI₃ Perovskite PV Cell using SCAPS-1D

Abstract

Researchers have been looking into alternative clean energy harvesting technology to combat global warming. Solar energy harvesting using PV technology is the most promising and well-established alternative clean energy source. Pb-based PPVC (Perovskite photovoltaic cell) have a PCE (power conversion efficiency) that has rapidly increased from 3.8 % to 25.8 %, but their potential for wide-scale deployment is severely constrained by concerns about lead toxicity. Sn-based perovskites are seen to be the most viable alternative because of their ideal electric and optical characteristics, as well as the focus of various attempts to make environmentally friendly Pb-free perovskites. CsSnI 3 perovskite stands out among Sn-based perovskites with the highest promise for manufacturing highly effective Sn-based PSC's because of its high thermal stability, ideal bandgap range, and low exciton binding energy. In this work, we have proposed three structures of Cs-based PPVC. We have optimized the types of ETL (electron transport layer) and HTL (hole transport layer) materials, the layer thicknesses, and the defect density of perovskite layer. We also investigated the effects of temperature on the cell performance. The final structure of the cell is FTO/TiO 2 /CsSnI 3 /Cu 2 O. The optimized structure provides a PCE of 35.29 %, a FF (fill factor) of 88.21 %, a $J_{s c}$ (short-circuit current density) of 34.27 mA $\cdot \mathrm{cm}^{-2}$, and a $V_{o c}$ (open circuit voltage) of 1.66 V. The total thickness of the optimized cell structure for the best possible performance is $2.75 \mu \mathrm{m}$.